In the digital age, businesses have access to an unprecedented amount of data about their customers and potential customers. With this data, they can create targeted marketing campaigns that reach the right people at the right time. However, with so much information available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. 

This article will provide a comprehensive overview of essential digital audience targeting strategies to help businesses optimize their digital advertising efforts and connect with their desired audience. From demographic targeting to behavioral targeting, we'll cover the key concepts and best practices to ensure your digital campaigns reach their intended audience and deliver the desired results.

Digital targeting, in its simplest form, is the act of directing marketing campaign efforts to the specific channels that will engage users and promote the best outcome for the campaign. 

With so many digital channels, a general marketing strategy won't cut it. So, marketers use digital targeting to develop their marketing methodologies and processes to only reach specific users and channels that will churn a high ROI and conversion rate. 

There are multiple different ways that marketers go about targeting their campaigns. The majority utilize historical and real-time data to predict the best place to reach their target audience. In contrast, others target users and channels based on demographics, customer loyalty, psychographics, region, platform preferences, past search behavior, etc. 

Marketers often confuse digital targeting with segmentation. Segmentation occurs earlier in the planning process and is solely the act of looking at different markets and audiences and categorizing them based on specific characteristics. 

While digital targeting occurs later on and is the actual grunt work of selecting and delivering the media methods that target these audience segments most effectively. 

For example, let's talk about the outdoor clothing industry. Before planning a campaign, the team may look at the industry as a whole and determine that their best target audience is teenage men aged 18-19 in the Pacific Northwest. This process is called segmentation. 

While digital targeting is identifying the best media execution methods and channels to reach this previously-outlined segment, the targeting strategy the team may select in this case could be using social media platforms; bidding on keywords this age group commonly looks up; or manually telling the programmatic platform executing the campaign to only field ads to users who meet the criteria of being male, 18-19 years old, and in the Pacific Northwest.

Marketers who don't target their advertising to a particular group or segment are blatantly wasting ad spend budget. Advertising can be expensive, and with so many channels to choose from, the most logical path is to be specific and narrow with who the campaign should reach.

Digital targeting also allows marketers to resonate with multiple audiences at once. Teams may see that they cater to two or more different groups of clients with different needs and interests. Using digital targeting, they can run multiple, separate campaigns catered to each target group's needs. 

"Audience targeting is the heart and soul of any digital media campaign. The smallest nuances can be the determining factor in how a campaign performs and whether it meets campaign or business objectives. 

Marketers need to consider not only what their target audience looks like, but what channel mix they are most likely to be on and have the most resonance with them. Simply put, this combination is vital in reaching the right people at the right time, and it all begins with building out effective audiences in order to drive campaign performance." - Hailey Towe, Account Manager

According to Pathlabs Account Manager, Hailey Towe, our first step in targeting a campaign is thinking about the business objective. Do we want to cast a wide net and facilitate brand awareness? Do we want to hone in on a specific target demographic? Keeping the business objectives in mind is vital to breaking things down and creating an audience set unique to the campaign. 

We next determine how our audience fits in with the business objective and what specific segments the campaign should prioritize, also defining how granular the campaign scope will go. 

The final two steps are done in unison: selecting channel and delivery methods and validating campaign methodology with data. The team should refer to the established campaign audience and consider the best ways to connect with them. Social media? Display ads? Audio? 

While also looking for data, research, and trends that validate and prove these delivery methods will be effective. 

“Not only does data help us in determining what audience we think will work best, but it's also the foundation for monitoring what works and what isn't working and influences how and when we pivot audience strategy. Data is one of the most powerful tools we possess, and we need to take advantage of its endless opportunities.” - Hailey Towe, Account Manager

Once you have defined your target audience for digital marketing, the next step is to implement essential targeting strategies that will ensure your message reaches the right people at the right time. In this section, we will outline some key digital audience targeting strategies that businesses can use to optimize their digital advertising efforts and achieve their marketing objectives.

Programmatic Based 

This method uses programmatic and dynamic platforms to bid on and place ads in front of relevant users in real-time. These include Google Ads, The Trade Desk, or other platforms like Resonate.

These methods are tried and true, run by AI, and backed by large companies with billions of data points on buyer personas and target audiences.

With programmatic platforms, marketers plug in their target audience info, and then the technology executes the campaign finding the most relevant users online. These platforms will also track actual first-party data for the marketer, which the machine learning builds upon to target future users better. 

"Platforms like Google and the Trade Desk have pretty robust options, and each gives you an idea of how large each audience is and what the reach could look like for your campaigns. It is also important to look out for first-party data – actual data about the marketer's specific users – which can help with retargeting purposes or building lookalike audiences." - Hailey Towe, Account Manager

Socio-Demographic Based

This method targets users based on their specific social and demographic characteristics. This can include ethnicity, age, gender, cultural background, education level, career, etc. 

Platform-based

Targeting users based on their platform preferences like social media, Youtube, Spotify, etc. 

Interest-based 

Defining and targeting users depending on their interests, hobbies, and obsessions. 

Intent-based

This includes search engine optimization and looking at organic keywords, surveys, and feedback. 

Geographic and Time Based 

Targeting users based on specific regions or during certain times of the year

Psychographic Based

Targeting users based on their personalities, lifestyles, habits, and perceptions of value. 

Purchase/Usage Based

Targeting users that frequently purchase a product, are long-time or repeat customers, etc. 

In conclusion, digital targeting is crucial to any successful digital marketing campaign. By defining your target audience and implementing essential targeting strategies, businesses can effectively reach their desired audience, improve engagement, and drive conversions. However, digital targeting is not a one-time process; it requires continuous monitoring and optimization to ensure ongoing success. 

Using the strategies outlined in this article, businesses can optimize their digital advertising efforts, connect with their desired audience, and achieve their marketing objectives. Remember, the key to successful digital targeting is to stay informed, adapt to changes, and always put the customer first.

Need help honing your digital targeting practices? Reach out to Pathlabs to see how we can become an extension of your team.